Dragon Riders of Berk
by Katrine Laclyon HTTYD
Summary: Calypso never expected her life to change so drastically. From being her father's little doll, to become a Dragon Rider with her own Dragon! This is the story of how Calypso arrived at the harbour of London, with no clue of where to go - except that she had to get away before her father's soldiers found her, and that she had to find Trader Johann. Read my profile for more info.
1. Leaving a Home Behind

**I**

**Leaving a Home Behind**

**Finally Calypso was leaving.** Standing by the railing, she watched the docks slowly fade into darkness, until all she could see were the lights of Constantinople. She took a deep breath, and then went over to Bjartr.

Bjartr was a trader from the north. His eyes were grey, and skin was tanned after spending many years at the sea, sailing between England and Constantinople. He had pale hair gathered in a low ponytail, and his beard was neatly braided. He wore blue, purple and silver, something which quickly would tell anyone he'd had luck as a trader. Right now, he was steering the boat.

"Where's first stop?" Calypso asked as she stopped beside him. The tall man found a map and held it up under a lamp.

"Our first stop, should be the Emirate of Sicily. Then we continue towards the Papal States. Afterwords we head to the Kingdom of Burgundy where I'm planning on celling some pretty nice fabrics I got in Constantinople. Then it's County Toulouse, the March of Spain, Ummayad and Caliphate, Kingdom of Leon, Pamplona, France and finally the end of the journey – England." All the time he'd followed a red mark at the map.

"That's pretty many names," Calypso commented. "Are you always stopping those places?"

"Yes," Bjartr replied, rolling up the map and hiding it. "But, since I promised your brother to help you flee from your family, I probably won't be welcomed in the Byzantine Empire any more."

"Yeah, about that-" Calypso started, but was cut off before she could even think of finishing.

"You, young lady, have to start working with your English. Remember that not everybody talk Latin out there," Bjartr told her. He went over to a huge bag which he easily lifted, and then dropped into her arms.

"Wha-?!"

"That's all you need to know about history, geography, languages, mathematics and so on and so forth. I believe you should start reading at once."

"But..." Calypso stuttered, struggling under the weight of the books. "What if the bag gets wet? Doesn't that ruin the books?"

Bjartr chuckled. "That bag is water proof. Made of real dragon skin! It costed me a high prize, but it's worth it."

"Does that mean dragons exist? Those huge, fire-breathing things with enormous wings and reptile eyes?" Calypso nearly forgot the bag at the thought of those myths being true.

"Aye, of course they do! But you're not going that far north. Now, get started on the reading. Tomorrow I expect you to present yourself in English!"

Calypso didn't want to argue more with the trader, so she made her way towards her cabin. Once inside, she let the bag fall to the floor with a heavy _THUD_. She flinched by the sound and waited for Bjartr to come running down, asking what she'd done to his precious books. Fortunately, he instead started singing some song – most likely English – and did not come down to check on the books.

Calypso sat at the floor with her legs crossed and opened the bag. To her surprise, the books were neatly piled, yes, even categorized, in it. She pulled up some huge books about languages. Most of them were in English – why was it so complicated? – but the basic ones were in both English and Latin. Calypso took a deep breath and opened the book.

This would be the beginning of a new life.


	2. An Unappreciated Surprise

**II**

**An Unappreciated Surprise**

**And once more Calypso was **looking towards a harbour, the only difference was that this was the harbour of London. The harbour was bustling with activity. Men, women and children, even animals, were there, either just taking a stroll, or looking at what the traders offered – and all of them were dressed in warm clothes and seemed pretty happy. As Calypso had grown up in an inn, she'd heard stories of such places, but she'd never imagined she'd actually see one of those stories coming true.

"Come on! Can't stay there all day!" Bjartr told her. "Help me with the sail!"

"Coming!" Calypso replied. Through the half year she'd spent at the sea, the sail had become her task, and she'd become pretty good at dealing with it. She had learned enough English to manage on her own, she could mathematics, she knew the geography of Europe, she'd read of different religions, myths and beliefs, she'd learned to navigate at the sea and a fighting. All in all, she'd never learned more in all her life than during those six months.

As Bjartr steered the ship into the harbour, Calypso took down the sail. She bound it tight to the mast, and then lowered herself to the deck. She pulled the coat closer around herself as Bjartr walked up to her after securing the ship from their side.

"Now I want you to stay here," Bjartr told her firmly. "The soldiers are trailing us, so I'll have to clean this ship and sell it once I'm finished with my errands. You have to pack your things. Take the dragon-skin bag. I've made a little package of provisions laying with your things.

"Then there are those two." From under his cloak, he found two letters. "This is to trader Johann. Go find him and give this to him. When he reads this, he'll for sure help you, but be careful. He's terribly moody." Bjartr gave Calypso the first letter. And sure enough, it was addressed to trader Johann. "This one," Bjartr continued and showed to the other letter, "is to a man named Stoick. Once Johann have brought you to Berk, leave his ship, find Stoick and give him this letter. Hopefully he'll listen."

Calypso nodded, taking both the letters which were sealed. "So... in other words, you don't really expect me to be here when you get back?" she asked.

Bjartr smiled fatherly at her and ruffled her brown hair. "I expect you to do what your gut and intelligence tells you is right – which means leaving this ship as soon as possible."

"Bye, then," Calypso said, taking a deep breath. Then she hugged him tightly.

"And take these," Bjartr said when they let go of each other. He'd found some fabrics in between all the stuff he had brought to England. "It's gonna be cold, so you'll need proper clothes to keep you warm."

Calypso carefully took the clothes. They were soft, thick and warm. It was a pale blue tunic edged with fur and a brown belt to have around the waist. There was a fur coat with a hood, a scarf, gloves, warm pants and thick boots.

"Take the bow and the pugio I gave you, even though you have to be careful with the bow now when it's so cold outside. And remember to be careful once you get to Berk. They've got pretty extraordinary... pets..."

"Yes, I'll be careful," Calypso replied with a smile. "I'll send you a letter when I get there, so you know I'm safe."

Bjartr smiled relieved and nodded. Then he left the ship. Calypso remained up at the deck a few moments longer, watching his back disappear, and then she hurried to her cabin to prepare herself.

* * *

As soon as she was in her cabin, she changed clothes, and glanced at the list she'd made during the last month:

.

_Food – bread, meat, dried fish, cheese, fruits, vegetables_

_Water_

_Extra clothes_

_Money_

_Weapons – pugio, composite bow, quiver_

_Books_

_Flute_

.

As an afterthought, she added "_2 letters_" at the end of the list. Then she quickly packed the dragon-skin bag. The pugio she stropped to the belt, and the quiver she took at her back, together with the bow which she left unstrung – otherwise the line would snap from the cold weather.

Before leaving, Calypso stopped to have a look in the mirror. She frowned at her own reflection and grabbed a comb. Quickly she tied her hair up in a ponytail, and then made a knot of it at the back of her head. It took only some minutes – but those were minutes she didn't have.

As she nodded satisfied to the mirror, and brown eyes glimmered back at her, she heard steps at the deck above her. She froze, and her gaze flickered towards the stairs. Quick and quiet she made her way over to the stairs and climbed up. Ever so carefully she pushed up the hatch and peered out at floor level. Five or six men were walking across the deck, talking in hushed voices.

She pushed the hatch even further up so she could see the lower parts of the clothes the men wore. She could swear those were Roman designs. Carefully she sneaked up, crouched down, pulled up the dragon-skin bag and closed the hatch. Then she shove a box over it to hide it. She had to lead the soldiers away, otherwise there was no telling what they'd do to the ship and the things.

She took the bag at her shoulder and slowly straightened. At the moment she was hidden by some bags and boxes which they'd started moving up early – Bjartr hadn't told her what he'd put in those – but it was only about seconds before those soldiers found her. She had no idea what they'd do if they found her – hopefully not kill her – but it was very likely they'd bind her and bring her home to her father where he could punish her for running off like that. She was not going to let that happen.

She unsheathed the pugio and stepped out from her "hiding" spot. No one noticed her at first, but when they did, they stopped searching, and grins appeared at their faces.

"Put that down, girl," one of the men said in Latin. Calypso realized she knew this one. She'd seen him many times at the inn. Once she'd even talked to him. But that was only once. She'd never liked the hungry look in his eyes when he glanced at her.

"Don't think so, Abelardus," she replied, raising the pugio. "You better not mess with me."

Abelardus let out a bark of laughter. "Really?!" he then exclaimed. Calypso really hated this man. "Put it down and let's get going. No one's going to get punished, just follow us and we're going to bring you back home." As an afterthought, he muttered, "And I'll get my reward..."

Calypso didn't like the sound of that. "No thanks," she replied. "I prefer England to Constantinople. But you should leave now, before Bjartr returns. He's going to be so mad when he finds you here." She pointed the pugio at them.

"If you insist," Abelardus said. He started turning around. Calypso couldn't believe she'd been so lucky. With a sigh she lowered the pugio. Abelardus spun back to face her, his gladius a few inches from her chest. Calypso snapped for breath, backing up.

"Not so though now, are you?" Abelarus hissed. "Now I believe the best would be if you just let go of that pugio and come with us." Calypso backed up even more – and her back hit the rig. She was trapped.

* * *

Calypso took a better grip of the pugio. Then she dived under the gladius Abelarius was pointing at her. She had planned to roll out of the way, but her bag got stuck. She got out of it and got to her feet, starting to pull at the bag. Behind her she heard Abelarius snap commands to the other men. She pulled the bag free and rushed over to the railing. Abelarius came after her, and she wouldn't have time to get off the ship. Therefore she threw the bag over at the dock. Then she jumped out of Abelarius' reach.

"Get back here, girl," he told her. She did not listen. Instead she ran all the way to the end of the ship where she climbed up at the railing. She sheathed the pugio to have her hands free as she jumped. She got a grip of a rope which had been tied to the railing, and climbed up towards the sail.

"Cut the rope!" Abelarius yelled. Calypso climbed faster. She had to get to the rig before the rope was – _SNAPP_. She screamed as the rope was cut and she flew towards the rig, hanging on to the rope. She hid her head and hit the rig with her shoulder first. Her arm became strangely numb as the hand let go of the rope and she remained dangling after just the right arm.

"Calypso!" A shout was heard from the docks, followed by running steps. Calypso blinked and focused on the blue cloak. Bjartr. She blinked a couple of times more, just to clear her head. Then she glanced down at the deck beneath her. The soldiers had hid and were ready to attack Bjartr as soon as he entered the ship.

"Watch out!" she called. "They're here!" It seemed as if Bjartr understood, because he froze for some moments, and then grabbed the axe he had hanging from his belt. Then he charged.

Somehow Calypso managed to get down from the rig, partly using he left arm. When she finally hit the deck, she barely managed to remain standing. She took some deep breaths to calm herself. One thought flashed through her head. She had to help Bjartr.

The trader had thrown three men over board, and was in combat with Abelarius. Calypso would never say it out aloud, but Abelarius was pretty good with the gladius. The Roman man drove Bjartr back against the railing, until Bjartr was one step from falling over board. He flashed Calypso an alarmed glance, which gave her just enough warning to dive. She unsheathed the pugio, spun around and thrust it into the man standing there. Her eyes widened at what she'd done. She let go of the pugio as the man stumbled backwards. His head hit the lamp handing in the rig, and it fell to the floor, oil spilling across the bags, boxes and deck. The man fell to the floor.

Calypso would've gotten panic just then, had it not been for Bjartr shouting, telling her to run. She turned around and stumbled over to the gangway. She followed it over to the dock where she grabbed the bag and darted off. She barely noticed hadn't it been for the panic which was starting to spread in the harbour. The civilians were led away, and she managed to slip out between them.

She ran into the first street. As soon as possible she took to the right. After passing a couple of streets which lead back to the harbour, she finally followed one of them and found herself in the end of the harbour. It was nearly empty of people, and the ship... it was on fire. How did it happen? What had happened to Bjartr? Were the Roman soldiers dead?

_At least one of them_, a tiny voice said in the back of her head. _Thanks to you, he's not going to pester anyone any time soon_. Calypso glanced down at her hands. She'd killed a man. The thought made the taste of bile appear in her mouth and she felt cold.

_Next chapter up 1. February..._

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**A/N: Yeah, I decided to reupload the chaptersXP Sorry, guys - I felt like I needed to "clean it up" a little.**


	3. Lost Hope

**A/N: Hey folks! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you've liked the story so far. As I'm updating once each month, I believe we'll get to "known areas" sometime during August/September. Hiccup and the gang will appear in the story sometime during October/November. This, of course, will be because of character development, trouble along the road etc.**

* * *

**III**

**Lost Hope**

**No one were allowed in,** nor out of the harbour. Calypso had taken to strolling the streets, wondering what to do now. It was about noon when she ran into the boy. He seemed to be about her own age, but she couldn't tell for sure. The boy turned around the corner and crashed into her. They both fell to the ground.

They boy got to his feet, glanced behind and then pulled Calypso up. "Come on," he told her. "If they find you here, you won't have much left when they're finished with you!" Then, with a tight grip of her hand, he pulled her further.

Calypso had always been quick, so it wasn't that hard for her to keep up with the boy. Soon she was totally lost in the streets, but the boy didn't seem to have problems with finding his way. Occasionally he would stop, tell her to hid and then disappear in some minutes, before returning from another direction. Once he even jumped off the roof above her, and landed easily beside her.

Eventually they came to a dead end. The boy motioned for her to follow as he started climbing the wall. Calypso followed. When she hauled herself up at the roof, the boy was sitting there in a crouched position, watching the streets bellow them. She climbed up towards him, but her foot slipped on the way and she barely managed to hold on.

"This way," he told her. "And be careful. It's slippery."

"Thanks, I noticed," Calypso replied sarcastically. They didn't talk for a long while after that, but Calypso couldn't help wondering why the boy hadn't just left her behind earlier. Good Lord, she wasn't helpless either!

The boy lead across roof after roof, until they reached an end. There he easily slid off the roof and in through a window just below the roof. Calypso didn't wait for an invitation, and followed him. The room was dark, except for the light falling in through the window they just came in through. It wasn't much warmer in there, than outside. A moment later a little flame was lit, and in it she could finally have a look at the boy.

He was tall and seemed pretty skinny, and his eyes glimmered like gold. He had messy black hair, but she could tell he was pale. Half his face was covered in a purple scarf, and he wore a brown jacket which seemed too big. He had grey gloves, but she noticed they had plenty of holes. His boots, however, didn't look as if they were twenty years old. In fact, they seemed pretty new.

"Who are you?" Calypso asked, frowning at him. "Why did you bring me here?"

The boy had been eyeing her with interest, but when she spoke he glanced sideways and shrugged. "Name's Briskir," he only said. Then he walked over to a table and some carpets. "Are you hungry?" He held out a piece of bread.

"I've got my own food," she replied. "Why did you bring me here?"

"They asked for a girl who looked pretty much like you," he said. "And they didn't look too friendly, so I figured they didn't want you any good."

"Who are 'they'?" Calypso inched closer to Briskir.

"Four men," he replied easily. "They weren't from here."

"Abelardus..." Calypso muttered. "Why were they chasing you?"

"Suppose they didn't like being thrown pies at." A grin had appeared at Briskir's face. "Pretty bad at hiding their anger were they too." Then his face fell serious. "You're not from England, are you?"

"No, and about that – I have to get to the harbour. I need to find trader Johann."

* * *

Briskir seemed like the best person she could've met just then. He helped her find her way back through the labyrinth of streets. After wondering whether she should tell him of her problem or not, she decided not to tell anything. He asked more than once what she was doing that far north, and alone, but she mostly managed to steer the conversation away from it.

"We're here," Briskir eventually said. They emerged from a street and were standing beside a trader. The man didn't seem as if he was planning on going further north. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Why you're here alone, why you're going further north, and why the soldiers are looking for you."

Calypso opened her mouth to answer something a little harsh, but then closed her mouth. She glanced towards the docks for some seconds. "I can't risk it," she eventually muttered. She glanced back at Briskir with a tentative smile. "I can't tell you, because what if you told the wrong persons and I suddenly had all of my father's soldiers after me?"

Briskir tilted his head slightly. "In other words, you don't trust me." There was a thoughtful expression at his face as he tilted his head to the other side. "You're clever not to trust the first you meet," he eventually decided. "Then I wish you good luck on your journey. May God watch over you."

Calypso smiled and was about to reply, but Briskir had already disappeared in between the houses. She sighed. Now she was on her own again. She walked over to the trader.

"Excuse me? Do you know where I can find trader Johann?"

The trader muttered something she didn't catch, but pointed towards a small ship not far off. "But hurry up, he's leaving soon." Calypso thanked him and hurried towards the ship.

The owner of the ship was a slim, tanned man with dark hair and moustache (and a tiny beard), and dark eyes. He was busy talking to a man, but his ship seemed ready to leave. The two men finished talking and the trader started making his way over to the ship.

"Trader Johann!" Calypso called. The man turned towards her with an arched eyebrow.

"That would be me?"

"I've got a letter to you..." Calypso pulled the letter out of the dragon-skin bag. "From Bjartr." Johann's other eyebrow raised too and he opened the letter. Calypso waited in some tense moments before Johann finished reading.

"So, let me get this straight," he said, folding the letter. "He wants me to bring you to Berk, and then bring a message back to him that you're in the good hands of Stoick the Vast?"

"Yes." Calypso let out a relieved breath. Now that everything was clear, Johann would let her onto the ship, take her north and she'd finally be safe from her father's soldiers. Safe. When she thought about it, she'd never been really _safe_. But that would change, she told herself.

"Sorry," Johann said, returning the letter. "I'm a trader. I trade food, ink and tools. My job is not to bring people back and forth." He let out an annoyed huff, and turned away.

Calypso was stunned. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. "But... You have to help me!" she exclaimed.

"I don't _have_ to do anything, miss," he replied.

"I'm being chased! I have to get away from here!"

"It's not my fault you ran away from home," Johann said with a frown. "My, look at the time! I've got to leave. Bye!" With that he told the man he'd been talking to earlier, to loosen his ship, and Calypso was left to stare after him with shock and panic.

* * *

Calypso stared after the ship. She couldn't believe it! Bjartr and his ship were gone. She was being chased, and now her only possibility of being transported north to Berk, had left... Without her. If she hadn't been so shocked, she would've sat down and cried.

She forced the hopelessness away and took a deep breath. She had to think of something. As she stared after the ship, she thought she heard Briskir beside her, saying, "I wish you good luck on your journey. May God watch over you." Briskir. Maybe he could help her? At least that was somewhere to start.

She made her way back to the trader and peered into the labyrinth of streets. She regretted not paying attention to were they went earlier. After glancing back towards the harbour a last time, she set off in between the houses.

It only took her a few turns to get lost. A normal person would've stopped just there and asked someone for the way back, or tried to make his/her way back. Calypso, however, turned around so she was facing the street she just walked through. She thought there was something vaguely known about it. That settled it. She turned back and continued.

She had no idea of how much time passed, but eventually she reached a grocery she was pretty sure she remembered. She glanced further down the street, and there it was. The house where Briskir had brought her earlier. At first she only stared at it, but then she hurried towards it. She eyed the street beside the house and the steep staircase. It wasn't very nice of her to just enter someone's house like that... Without another 'if' or 'but', she started climbing the stairs.

When she finally pushed up the door, she found the room just as dark as she remembered it from her first visit. "Briskir?" she whispered. No answer. No light.

Slowly she made her way across the room, towards the table and carpets she remembered. Her foot hit something soft, and she froze in her steps. She lowered her gaze to the floor and squinted at whatever it was. As she stood still, her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and she could make out the shape of a big bird laying there. Carefully she crouched down and placed a hand on it. It was warm and the chest was quickly rising and sinking.

"Don't be afraid," she muttered and picked it up. Then she glanced about to find that candle... She quickly walked over to the table. There was a box of matches laying beside the candle. She placed the bird at the table and lit the candle. There was a cold draft in the room which made the tiny flame dance and flicker. Calypso held her hands around it to keep it from going out. She dropped the bag at the floor and sat the candle beside it, taking the bird into her lap as she sat down at the edge of the carpets.

In the light she could have a better look at the bird. It was huge and black with a black beak. A raven. And it was wrapped into some warm cloth. Calypso removed the cloth. As soon as the raven could move about, it notched for her hand. She quickly pulled back and the raven jumped away from her. It held one of the wings in a strange position, as if it hurt.

"You can come back when you feel like letting someone have a look at that wing of yours," Calypso told it. While she waited, she took off the quiver and bow, and put them beside herself. Then she opened the bag and found some of the bread Bjartr had provided her with. She broke off a piece of it and settled to eat it in silence as she watched the raven jump around the room, trying to fly.

Outside the sun started to settle. Calypso yawned. Soon enough she nodded off.

_Next chapter up 1. Mars..._

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**A/N: Now you'll just have to wait another month for next update!**

**If anyone's interested, I'll do some HTTYD-prompts. More information about this at my profile.**


	4. The Street Boy

**A/N: Thanks for lovely reviews! I really appreciate it.**

**Another month has passed, and we're ready for another chapter. Please enjoy...**

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**IV**

**The Street Boy**

_'_

**The first thing Briskir noticed,** was that _someone_ had found his hideout. He stared up the stairs, listening. Someone were breathing up there, and he could more sense than see the flickering of light. His first idea was to leave and find another shelter – for sure there would be other places in London. But then his thoughts went to the raven he'd found earlier. He had to see if it still was there.

And so, without another thought, he quickly and soundlessly climbed up the stairs and pushed up the ledge. He climbed up and put the ledge in place. Then he straightened and slowly approached the light.

The candle had nearly burned down. Curled up in the pile of carpets, the girl he'd helped earlier was laying, and beside her was the raven.

Briskir slowly approached her and knelt beside her with a frown. Shouldn't she have been on a ship on her way north? He considered waking her up, but in the end decided against it.

* * *

**Calypso blinked a couple of times,** before finally sitting up. The room was dark, except from the candle, but – if possible – it was a little warmer than when she fell asleep.

"So you're finally awake."

The voice startled her and she jumped. Sitting at the table was Briskir. He was holding a book which he seemed very interested in, and at his shoulder sat the raven with a now bandaged wing. Then he closed the book and put it beside himself. He glanced at her.

"Any chance I can have my sleeping place back?"

"What – oh, sorry." Calypso quickly moved herself away from the pile, and Briskir placed himself at the spot where she'd slept.

"Thanks for warming my bed." He grinned at her, and Calypso made a face.

"It wasn't as if I meant to," she replied, not very amused.

"No need to take that tone," he commented calmly and pulled some carpets around his shoulders. Some minutes passed in silence. "So..." he eventually said. "Why are you here, intruding my home, and not on that ship?"

Calypso shrugged. "Trader Johann didn't want to help me, and I simply didn't know where else to go." She glanced down at the raven which had moved from his shoulder and settled in her lap instead. She couldn't remember when it had accepted her, but she really didn't think that was how birds usually acted.

New silence.

"Are you still planning on going north?" Briskir asked and sent her a glance she didn't notice.

"Yeah, I just don't know how."

"Well, you could buy a horse or a pony, or simply walk, and follow the road north, or you could charter a ship and go north by sea," he suggested.

Calypso sighed and found her purse in the bag. "I can't afford that if I want food too," she replied.

"That would definitely be a problem," Briskir agreed. He was quiet for some moments, and when Calypso glanced sideways at him, he seemed to be deep in thoughts. "But," he then said, "I _can_ help you if you want. Of course, I want something in return."

Calypso got a feeling she had to be careful with what she said. "What would that be?" she asked tentatively. Briskir rose and brought the book he'd been reading earlier.

"One doesn't bring with books just for weight, when one are planning to travel far," he said with a motion towards her bag where some books she'd brought with just for joy, were visible. Then he dropped his book into her lap. Calypso opened it carefully. It was a children's book, with images of different dragons, and a hero who was pointing a sword at some dragon.

"What about this?" Calypso asked and glanced up at him.

"I want to learn to read," he said in a matter off factly tone. Calypso stared at him. That wasn't what she'd expected. Briskir clearly felt a little uncomfortable. "What?" he asked.

"You can't read?" Calypso finally said.

He shook his head. "Why is that a shock?"

Calypso shook her head and glanced down at the book again. "I... guess I never really thought about it," she finally replied.

Briskir eyed her carefully, and there was something in his eyes she couldn't read. "You're the daughter of some rich man," he then stated drily. "The rich ones never sees us poor. To them them we're just here to be their servants. Someone they can take out their feelings on. Someone without rights." His gaze turned hard as he spoke.

Calypso opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it. What he just said was kind of true, wasn't it? She remembered how her family sometimes would treat the poor ones they stumbled upon in the street. Calypso wanted to defend herself. Not that she held anything against the poor ones, but she'd never stopped someone from harming them. She'd simply walked past.

* * *

_Calypso stared at the man as they passed. He wore worn clothes and held out a hand which couldn't have seen clean water in many years. Her father slapped the hand away and pulled her along. When they were home, Calypso glanced up at him._

"_Why did you do that? Who was he?"_

_Her father knelt down in front of her so they came in the same eye level. "He's one of those who live in the dirt with the animals. One of those who disgrace humans." When Calypso frowned, he grasped her shoulders tightly. "It's very important you understand this," he told her firmly. "If you meet one of those, don't look at them. They aren't worthy our attention."_

* * *

Calypso swallowed at the memory, and then glanced up at Briskir again. "You're right," she whispered.

"What?" he demanded.

"You are right. But not everyone are like that. There are some rich people who help everyone."

He snorted. "Yeah, right." He held his arms tightly crossed in front of his chest, and even thought Calypso hadn't known him for long, she knew he was angry. She sighed and put her purse back into the bag. She placed the raven and the book between the carpets and then rose, picking up her things.

"Thanks for the help, anyway," she said. She stropped the quiver and bow to her back, and took the bag at the shoulder. "I wish you good luck, and may God watch over you." Briskir blinked. All his anger ran off him as Calypso crossed the room and shove up the door. Cold night air brushed past her.

"Wait, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'll continue north," she replied and didn't look at him as she exited.

"Yeah, but you said yourself you've got no where else to go! Where are you going to stay tonight? It's still cold outside."

This time Calypso glanced at him with a tiny smile. "Thanks for caring, but I suppose I'll find somewhere else to stay over the night. And tomorrow I'll see if I maybe can sell this bag and some of the things I brought with, and then buy a pony."

"No," Briskir said firmly. "If you fall asleep outside now, you won't have any 'tomorrow'! By the Gods, you don't even know where to find an inn!"

"Then what else should I do? I can't stay here."

"Why not?"

That surprised Calypso. "You just said you don't like rich people," she reminded him. He muttered something she didn't catch – probably another pray to God. Then he walked over to her, pulled her back inside and over to the pile of carpets.

"You're _not_ going out there now," he told her. "I'd rather share my home with someone from a rich family, than cause the death of the one."

Calypso smiled. "So you care about me."

"What? No! This is just for tonight. Tomorrow you continue on your journey, and we can forget each other." But as he spoke, Calypso could see the tiniest of blushes spread across his cheeks.

"Fine," she said, still with a smile at her lips. "Tomorrow I leave and we forget each other."

'

_Next Chapter Up 1. April..._

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**A/N: Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far.**

**See you next month!**


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